This is an Indian side without the great Virat Kohli and the dependable KL Rahul. There are two debutants, and one who is a Test match old. And then you are reduced to 33-3, with the two centurions from the Vizag Test both back in the pavilion. England were breathing fire and the toss advantage had been nullified. As skipper, Rohit Sharma had to let his bat take over. The batter in him needed to take centre stage for the captain and the team. A wicket then, and you had two debutants to follow. Clearly, the match was already in the balance in the first 45 minutes.
That’s when it happened. Mark Wood dug it in short, and snap it went and hit Rohit on the visor. The captain had been shaken, or so thought England. Yes, he had, but only to India’s advantage. A shake of the head and a wry smile, as if to reprimand himself for what he had done – misjudge the bounce and allow the bowler a moral victory.
Rohit had been shaken and stirred. Woken from his slumber. Thereafter, each time Wood bowled short to the skipper till he was eventually dismissed for a match-defining 131, Rohit employed the pull and hook to perfection. Eyes on the ball, perfect swivel of the body, controlled aggression while eliminating risks, Rohit played a real masterclass from there on.
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
Against Tom Hartley, he was apprehensive to start with. And then tried to get out of jail by being aggressive. Two solid boundaries and then an attempted third could have caused his downfall. Joe Root dropped him at slip, and all of a sudden, Rohit’s game became much tighter. He did attempt the big shot every now and then, but by that time, he was set. The most important thing was that twice in this innings, Rohit did not let his ego take over. First against Wood and then against Hartley, he was able to bite the bullet and show restraint. Much like Sachin Tendulkar in Sydney in 2004, on course to a resolute 241 after a few innings without runs, Rohit was prepared to concede moral victories to Wood and Jimmy Anderson and Hartley, knowing full well that a 100 would set things up for India.
It wasn’t a typical Rohit innings, and that’s what made it stand out. He was prepared to grind and bat long. He was prepared to look ugly and stay dogged. And finally, he was happy to get hit and get beaten. But he wasn’t prepared to give it away with a reckless shot like in the World Cup final. Finally, when he did play a false stroke, he was on 131 and had stitched together a partnership of 204 with Ravindra Jadeja.
Despite his masterclass with the bat, the Rohit picture that is etched in memory is one from the dressing room. Just as Jadeja called Sarfaraz Khan for a run, Rohit looked anxious. And as Wood’s throw from side-on rattled the stumps leaving Sarfaraz, the debutant, stranded, Rohit threw his cap in disgust. He had transitioned from batter to skipper, and knew that the wicket had been lost against the run of play. From bailing the team out with a stellar 100 to getting frustrated at the Sarfaraz wicket, the first day in Rajkot was mainly about Rohit.
Captain, leader, batter- it was Rohit who set the innings up for India. Another 100 runs, and he will start to feel that the grind was well worth it. It will be then be on his deputy, Jasprit Bumrah, and R Ashwin and Jadeja, his ace spinners, to make sure that the captain’s effort doesn’t go in vain. With half the side missing, the skipper has delivered exactly as most Indian cricket fans wanted him to. And coming a day after Jay Shah announced him as captain for the T20 World Cup, the timing couldn’t have been any better.
Also Read: Sarfaraz fillip for Ranji Trophy and players who toil away from spotlight